juddspaintballs
Dual Sport Touring
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
- Messages
- 516
- Age
- 38
- Location
- Berkeley Springs, WV
- Bike
- KTM 1090 Adventure R
- STOC #
- 7186
Ah, I dun it agin.
Left the fiancee's (parents') house at midnight. A flake
or two in the sky. I hope I can beat this storm. I
can't stay the night because she's gone at 6AM for
classes and I've got work in the morning. We live an
hour and a couple minutes apart. Nope, I gotta
attempt this. What is there to worry about? It's
JUST starting to snow, this is only Maryland, how bad
can it be?
10 miles into the trip...hmmm...this is hairy. Find a
hotel maybe? Nah, I don't see anything on the road
yet. This reminds me of the Windows screensaver
"Flying Through Space."
25 miles into the trip...where did the lines go?
Wait...where did civilization go? There is nothing
out here for another 10 miles in either direction. No
hotel for me. Keep going I guess.
So I trudge on at an agonizing 19 miles an hour: at
times with feet on the road like I'm skiing on the
snow. A couple cars get stuck behind me 2.4 miles
from the nearest town. They can wait.
I get into town which is also where I would normally
change route and hop onto the Interstate which would
assuredly be cleared by salt and plow trucks. Should
be safe enough to ride on. A lot better than the 1"
of dry fluffy snow already on the road. I slow down
with the engine and drop down to 1st gear. Both feet
back on the road. Okay...time for a little brake
action so I can stop at this light situated on a
downhill. PLOP. There goes my right
tip over bar cover. Only, unlike the left tip over
bar cover that I managed to break about a week and a
half ago on an iced bridge, this one is missing a
piece because it is so cold out that it shattered.
Come Spring, I can hit up discount honda for a pair of
covers for some $60 or so. Maybe get a few other
parts I need further on down the road. Tip over bars
are perhaps the best invention yet for dumballs like
myself who choose to ride in obviously horrible
weather.
Oh, those cars behind me? I'm so good at the
technique for picking up large bikes from the ground
that I have the ST righted and on the stand before
they slide to a stop. The first car in line yells to
see if I'm alright. (it is so hard to hear when you
are sick with stuffed up ears and you have earplugs
in, a hood on, and a helmet over top). The 2nd car in
line keeps moving on, then circles back around to come
back by and tell me to be careful, then to circle back
around again and keep driving.
I FINALLY come to my senses and decide that I
shouldn't be out riding. Ride/walk the bike up into a
parking lot that has strict signs forewarning of a tow
and call home (now only 15 miles away) to awaken a
grumpy and sick father at 2:15 am. Yeah, he'll come
pick me up. Now where do I put the ST? Ah, that dead
end street with a guardrail should do. Cable lock and
a couple pad locks around the ST and the guard rail,
forks locked, ST all covered up, quick picture of my
license plate to more easily recall the tag number
*just in case*, and the luggage with me, I finally
make it home about 3AM. The Interstate was not
cleared at all and was just as bad as the other roads.
Snow is still hammering the area some 13 hours later.
About 6 hours after the plop I was able to go pick up the ST with a 4x8 trailer and my Blazer. Tip over bars, grab handles, and the front rim all hooked up, the ST sits pretty solidly all ratcheted down like so.
This is my second TOT this month...do I get a zippo now?
Left the fiancee's (parents') house at midnight. A flake
or two in the sky. I hope I can beat this storm. I
can't stay the night because she's gone at 6AM for
classes and I've got work in the morning. We live an
hour and a couple minutes apart. Nope, I gotta
attempt this. What is there to worry about? It's
JUST starting to snow, this is only Maryland, how bad
can it be?
10 miles into the trip...hmmm...this is hairy. Find a
hotel maybe? Nah, I don't see anything on the road
yet. This reminds me of the Windows screensaver
"Flying Through Space."
25 miles into the trip...where did the lines go?
Wait...where did civilization go? There is nothing
out here for another 10 miles in either direction. No
hotel for me. Keep going I guess.
So I trudge on at an agonizing 19 miles an hour: at
times with feet on the road like I'm skiing on the
snow. A couple cars get stuck behind me 2.4 miles
from the nearest town. They can wait.
I get into town which is also where I would normally
change route and hop onto the Interstate which would
assuredly be cleared by salt and plow trucks. Should
be safe enough to ride on. A lot better than the 1"
of dry fluffy snow already on the road. I slow down
with the engine and drop down to 1st gear. Both feet
back on the road. Okay...time for a little brake
action so I can stop at this light situated on a
downhill. PLOP. There goes my right
tip over bar cover. Only, unlike the left tip over
bar cover that I managed to break about a week and a
half ago on an iced bridge, this one is missing a
piece because it is so cold out that it shattered.
Come Spring, I can hit up discount honda for a pair of
covers for some $60 or so. Maybe get a few other
parts I need further on down the road. Tip over bars
are perhaps the best invention yet for dumballs like
myself who choose to ride in obviously horrible
weather.
Oh, those cars behind me? I'm so good at the
technique for picking up large bikes from the ground
that I have the ST righted and on the stand before
they slide to a stop. The first car in line yells to
see if I'm alright. (it is so hard to hear when you
are sick with stuffed up ears and you have earplugs
in, a hood on, and a helmet over top). The 2nd car in
line keeps moving on, then circles back around to come
back by and tell me to be careful, then to circle back
around again and keep driving.
I FINALLY come to my senses and decide that I
shouldn't be out riding. Ride/walk the bike up into a
parking lot that has strict signs forewarning of a tow
and call home (now only 15 miles away) to awaken a
grumpy and sick father at 2:15 am. Yeah, he'll come
pick me up. Now where do I put the ST? Ah, that dead
end street with a guardrail should do. Cable lock and
a couple pad locks around the ST and the guard rail,
forks locked, ST all covered up, quick picture of my
license plate to more easily recall the tag number
*just in case*, and the luggage with me, I finally
make it home about 3AM. The Interstate was not
cleared at all and was just as bad as the other roads.
Snow is still hammering the area some 13 hours later.
About 6 hours after the plop I was able to go pick up the ST with a 4x8 trailer and my Blazer. Tip over bars, grab handles, and the front rim all hooked up, the ST sits pretty solidly all ratcheted down like so.
This is my second TOT this month...do I get a zippo now?
